Proud Saint made her mark in theater

ST. CHARLES – Michelle Mann started giving tours of St. Charles East High School before she herself even had the sprawling campus memorized.

Now, after four years of giving tours to visitors – including parents of incoming freshmen – the soon-to-be-graduate said she knows the building like the back of her hand.

“I’m a proud Saint,” Mann said. “I love my school. I love being able to talk about it.”

Mann is set to graduate from East on May 26 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

In her four years as a Saint, Mann has participated in various activities, including the peer leadership program – which helps freshmen acclimate to the school – and fine arts activities, such as theater, choir and band, she said.

“I’ve had a pretty fun-filled time at East,” Mann said, noting she sometimes spends up to 13 hours a day at school.

A big part of her high school career has been participating in the theater department, Mann said. She joined theater as a sophomore, but it wasn’t until this year that she really came into her own, she said.

This year – after normally doing one or two shows a year – Mann co-directed a one-act play and was the lead in two others, she said. She played Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Dorothy in “The Wiz.”

She said she never envisioned herself playing a lead role or directing a play, which she described as a welcome challenge.

“This year has really pushed me,” Mann said. “I loved it so much.”

She plans on attending the University of Notre Dame, she said. While she wants to act again and plans on joining a choir and trying out for marching band, she said those activities will be recreational pursuits. She plans to study international economics, she said.